Saha put United back on track

The summer transfer window closed and Manchester United failed to sign Dimitar Berbatov of Spurs and Bolton's Nicolas Anelka. This has left a glaring absence of quality strikers in Ferguson's lineup for the new season.

The champions have struggled so far without Rooney and the suspended Ronaldo, managing just three goals in five Premiership games.

Fergie admits Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's retirement this week was totally unexpected and is a big loss to the team, especially after releasing strikers Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi. But he is far from panicking.

"Ole's situation did create a problem for us because we thought he was on the way back when Smith and Rossi left but you have to get on with it," he said.

"We haven't scored too many, I agree. It is unusual considering the number of chances we are creating. But there are not a lot of goals around in the Premiership this season at all. However, we do still need more of cutting edge to our game."

Now is as good a time as any for Louis Saha to step up to the fore. Happily to that end, Saha made a goal-scoring return following his long-term injury problems. The Frenchman had several false starts on his comeback trail following his end of season knee operation.

The match-winner was his first Premiership goal since last December and United manager Ferguson admitted he was relieved to have Saha back.

"He has come through fine and we are delighted at that also because after being out for such a long time we are aware that kind of injury can come back again but thankfully he is okay."

"Our front four haven't played together before. It was Anderson's first game, Tevez playing through on his own when I think he is far better playing behind someone, Chris Eagles is a young lad, Nani, it's new to them."

Meanwhile, Roy Keane received a rousing reception from United fans when his team Sunderland arrived at Old Trafford. Sunderland has now suffered four straight defeats but Keane is convinced his promoted team have enough to survive their first season back in the top flight.

"The result overshadowed the occasion but I did enjoy the reception, it was very, very nice, but straight after the game it's all about getting the right result," he said."We didn't quite make it but overall there were good signs for us."

Wenger staying on at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger is happy with the team he has built so far, and he has no intention of leaving the club just yet. That is a huge relief for Arsenal fans especially since the departure of Thierry Henry.

To be frank, Arsene has done a fantastic job without splashing crazy amount of cash in the transfer market. By grooming precocious talents like Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Kolo Toure into international stars, he has won over detractors with his reputation in spotting unpolished gems.

So far, it has been a smooth start for Arsenal with an unbeaten league run and they have easily qualified for the Champions League group stages. And Wenger's recent comments may just be the slap in the face for Alex Ferguson who has spent an enormous amount of money for mediocre results.

"Nobody knows for how much longer people will continue to pump 40, 50 or 100 million pounds into football every year without natural resources and any dividends being paid back," Arsene said.

"There are many ways to work in the game. We buy good players when they come onto the market, but generally we have gone for a different solution and we will continue to do that."

"I'm not saying other clubs have got it wrong. Instead we're doing it our way and are happy with that. It's my decision to take this route."

The admirable thing about Arsene's discipline is the club's coffers are bursting at the moment after Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov bought David Dein's stake in the club for 75 million pounds, sparking inevitable speculation that a takeover was imminent.

Wenger has expressed a keen interest to stay at the Emirates Stadium. His relaxed smile when he was asked if there was any update about his contract negotiations suggests the French coach is close to giving Arsenal fans the answer they want.

"What I'm thinking when I'm negotiating the contract is whether I have the freedom to work like I want to work," he said. "I always had that with David Dein and, since David has gone, I still have that. That is, for me, the most important thing. There will be news on the contract next week."

Review of BackupHistory.com

For most people, understanding the history of computer data backup may seem like a meaningless affair and they have better things to do than to look back into the past. That makes the treatment of historical data important as visitor's attention span in the site will be short.

I have to say that BackupHistory.com has done a pretty good job though. The history of data backup was summarized in a concise and interesting manner. How it evolves from punched cards (yes, it was the first digital storage device) and magnetic tape reels to floppy disks, CDs, flash drives, Blu-ray discs to the emergence of network technologies with complex systems for remote backup storage.

Towards the end, in their afternote, they also gave readers a timely reminder that made me realize that I too should be doing more backup than what i have done in the past, which is, once in a blue moon.

Considering that 70% of business people have experienced data loss due to accidental deletion, disk or system failure, viruses, fire or some other disaster, it is indeed better to be safe than sorry.

The creator of this website is SoftLogica.com, which is also the developer of several data backup programs like Backup Platinum and Handy Recovery.

Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham

Manchester United eked out a 1-0 win over Tottenham with a spectacular 30-yard goal from young Portuguese talent Nani. This result put an end to their short spell in the relegation zone and lifted them to a respectable 10th spot in the league table.

For a while, it didn't seem that they will be able to do so...

An unconvincing display and two second half penalty appeals from Tottenham have a lot of United's fans crapping their pants. Tottenham was not able to capitalise on the abundant chances and have only themselves to blame.

"Manchester United were there for the taking. They didn't look comfortable or confident. Maybe we lacked a bit of cutting edge." Jol responded in an interview.

Poor Martin Jol, with only 1 win from 25 matches, even the staunchest of his supporters will not bank on him qualifying for the Champions League and retaining his job. However, not all is lost as the signings Martin Jol made during the off-seasons looked promising. Berbatov was in the thick of action and was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet. Teenage Welsh international Gareth Bale who marked his debut also came in with an eye-catching performance.

Manchester United is far from regaining their stellar form but this win will build up some momentum for them. With more of their core players returning from injuries and suspension, they will pose a threat especially after Christmas when the schedule starts to jam up and a strong bench will keep the title hopes burning.

Luckily, the main contenders like Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have dropped points and is not too far ahead in the title race.

Can the real Manchester step out?

If the league title is decided tomorrow, Manchester United could be facing relegation as they are currently lying in the second last position. A bit of a topsy-turvy since Manchester City is sitting sweetly in second spot.

For the younger fans, they are going to have a hard time remembering when United was so far down the table. Let's do a little recap then.

The Red Devils were last relegated in 1973/74 season along with Norwich and Southampton. Bounced back immediately in 74/75, finishing third the following season 75/76. The lowest they ever dipped was 13th in 1989/90. That was the year Liverpool last won the top league.

There is no doubt that Alex Ferguson is under immense pressure and his recent rant on boardroom 'hangers-on' for the high number of managerial casualties in the English game could be a way of shifting some of the scrutiny away from his team's performance.

For that matter, Martin Jol is in an even more precarious position after meeting with chairman Daniel Levy and it was made clear that his long-term future as Tottenham manager hinges on the club's Champions League expectations.

Alex Ferguson has made no secret of his admiration of Jol's work as a coach in Holland and is dismayed that the Dutchman's position has been called into question so early in the season. But with the Premier League champions yet to register a win this season, the Tottenham manager can expect no favours at Old Trafford.

"We'll win the game on Sunday," said a confident Ferguson. "Tottenham are coming with a great determination to help their manager but with the ability in this team, (the winless run) can't continue for long, I'm sure of that."

Well, i will be definitely be checking the score board and keeping my fingers crossed. From the previous matches, i will not be sticking my neck out for them.

It has been said that Untied lacked the killer touch in front of goal but the problem is much more serious. I mean where is the team spirit in the previous match? Tevez was the only saving grace as he travelled up and down the field with energy and was the only one that really wanted the 3 points. The rest of the team looked jaded and ready to end the match.

Soccer Pundit has not seen the desire and the team chemistry in United's performance so far. Sometimes, it is not a matter of getting quality players but rather the team spirit which wins the title. Chelsea is also burdened with injuries but are still grinding out the results.

The influx of new players have disrupted the team but this is to be expected as can be seen from Chelsea's internal turmoil last season; how long before the team can gel together will be crucial to the title race and that should be a challenge which Alex Ferguson will relish.